Guardian
by Murasame Warrior
Summary: Marietta is accident prone, and we all know that. But due to unprecedented twists in her fate, will she finally have someone to watch over her and protect her from her own tough luck? Can love really blossom between a clumsy girl and an androgynous mage?
1. Silver Haired Savior

**Guardian  
**A/N: With over 177 characters, each with different personalities, I can't help but experiment on different pairings for my RS fics. There's the people's favorite Jack/Ridley (Unfortunately, I have no ideas for a Jack/Ridley yet…but I will think of something!), a faint idea of a Jack/Leona (I mean, why give her a cutscene when she first met Jack if she's nothing special:p), that angst-filled Jack/Flora pairing (This one is inspired by my game save.) and of course, that Vitas/Flora shoujo-ai couple (Uhh…dunno?). This time, a strange idea just came to me. I don't know if people will like this new pairing, but you'd better brace yourself if you find it weird. This fic is one of two preludes to the love triangle story, Errors. If you find the couple in this fic weird, I guess you'll find the second prelude even weirder.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft. **(Tsk…darn disclaimer spilled the secret pairing…)

The sound of a continuous ringing filled the air inside Room 201 of the Leopearl Apartments in the Blue Town of Water and Wisdom. The lump in the bed slowly turned to the side and a slender hand emerged from underneath the covers. The hand landed on the bedside table, and started to inch around trying to feel the nearby alarm clock. The creeping hand then felt a round object, quivering rhythmically to the ringing. Realizing that it was the buzzing alarm clock, the hand reached for the snooze button. But as it was only a few ways to the button, the ringing of the clock stopped and then…

**BOOM!** The clock exploded into the tiny pieces, scattering in all sorts of directions inside the apartment room. The loud boom was the followed by a terrified scream coming from the person who was laying in the bed.

"AAAHHHH!" A young woman with narrow green eyes jolted upon surprise. Her usually neat red hair was messy and frizzed horribly this morning, covering almost the whole of her face. She kicked off the bed covers quite quickly because of her early morning scare. She sat up in her bed, trying to catch her breath she lost from her abrupt shrieking. "Awww…I'm never going to test any new inventions again!" The girl added with an exhausted groan. Just then, three frenzied knocks were heard on the door. The girl got up from her bed and answered the door. Outside her room was two girls- one was worried-looking and wearing a pair of glasses and the other was a short haired girl who wore a purple and white dress. They both looked panicked and alarmed.

"Marietta, what happened?" Leona asked in anxiety. "We heard a loud blast!"

"Yeah, and you screamed after that." Cornelia added, pointing a finger at Marietta. Marietta, the red-headed girl, took a quick look at her mangled room. She bit her lip at the sight of the mess and quickly withdrew her head. She turned to face Leona and Cornelia once more.

"Ehehe…that was just…erm…the alarm clock…" Marietta said sheepishly, a rush of blood making its way in her cheeks. Marietta went out and closed the door behind her so that the two girls wouldn't see the carnage in her room. "Jill wanted me to see if it works…" Cornelia looked at Marietta, who was looking incredibly messy this morning.

"Well, you can tell her it's a success." Cornelia quipped. Leona's eyebrows met with each other in a perplexed frown.

"At least nothing really serious happened…" Leona said in her small voice. "Do take care of yourself, Marietta."

"I will. Just hope my luck will cooperate." Marietta responded, scratching her cheek lightly. Leona then looked at her wristwatch and gasped a bit.

"Cornelia, we are running late!" Leona said to her companion. "We still have to take our re-embodiment lessons from Ms. Claudia." Cornelia's head drooped.

"Oh yeah, I'm flunking that course. Resurrection 101…you destroy me." Cornelia said dismally. "Well, we gotta run. See you later, Marietta!"

"Yes, we will see you at the Institute." Leona added.

"Bye girls." Marietta waved a grimy hand at them as they walked away and out of the building. After Leona and Cornelia have gone, Marietta returned inside her room and looked around. Her narrow eyes widened when she saw that the exploding alarm clock added more work to her spring cleaning chores. The walls were stained with black soot; pieces of tin from the clock were everywhere and the burnt smell from the exploding agent will take a while to get rid of.

"Tsk…I should've said no to Jill when I had the chance!" The red-headed, green-eyed girl sighed to herself. "Next time, I'm getting a normal alarm clock." Cleaning up one's room is not a big deal. But Marietta's room is another story. There were pieces of paper scattered everywhere, each bearing her research assignments in her classes in the Vareth Magic Institute. There were also several small unfinished golems lying lifelessly on the floor- which will probably make Ursula really mad when she sees them. And to add more clutter, she had numerous spell manuscripts given by her teacher, Derek, which taught students how to cast different elemental magic. Marietta's face crinkled in a disgruntled scowl and brushed back her untidy red hair to clear her face. She got her tiny green glasses and let them sit on the bridge of her nose.

"Alright, time to clean up this mess." Marietta said resolutely, cracking her knuckles all karate-like in style. She took a quick look at the clock hanging on the wall. "My classes start at 3 PM, and it's only nine o' clock. Alright! I've got plenty of time!" She added happily, taking a nearby broom so that she could start cleaning. Marietta looked around her room again. The soot from the explosion were still stuck on the walls and the tine from the clock were still everywhere. The unsightly filth spread around the room was really bad. The broom Marietta was holding fell to the ground after viewing the disarray.

"This…could be a problem." Sighed Marietta, as she bent down to pick up the broom to start cleaning.

-----

Marietta swept, scrubbed and scoured every inch of the room, cleaning for soot and gathering every bit of the ruined tin clock. She had not thought of taking breakfast or cleaning up yet. Marietta was still clad in her casual evening cheongsam attire, which was now stained with dirt and dust. Her hair wasn't styled in the usual buns on the sides of her head, but was instead tied behind her head with a ribbon. Marietta figured that freshening up was a far easier task than tidying up the mess made by the exploding alarm clock. Marietta pushed the dirt she gathered onto the dust pan with her broom. She has been on the cleaning job for about 6 hours now, and was relived to see that her work was paying off. Most of the soot on the walls was dispatched, majority of the shattered tin were gathered and thrown out, and all that's left to get rid of were the dirt on the sheets and the foul smell of concentrated nitroglycerine. It took her that much time to get most of the work done because the dirt had caked on the walls and took a certain amount of effort to scrub off. Plus, finding the tin pieces was a nearly impossible mission.

"Whew…I'm so glad I'm almost done!" Marietta chimed happily, wiping off some sweat off her forehead. She has gotten rid of the dirt and the tin pieces, but soon after, another problem arose. Because of searching for the bits of tin and scrubbing every corner of the ash, Marietta's room became a playground of displaced furniture. She had to move the furniture around to get to those nooks and crannies.

"Awww…you gotta be kidding me!" Marietta exclaimed, dropping her head in disbelief. She also felt numerous grumbles coming from her stomach, urging her to sit down somewhere and have some cereal. After completing a very hard task, she now has to deal with her dislodged furniture, her grumbling stomach, her grubby appearance and her classes in Vareth-

"OH NO! What time is it?" Marietta shrieked out of the silence, quickly cocking her head towards the clock on the wall. It was almost 3 PM, with only about a quarter of an hour left. "Uh-oh! Urgh…I'm gonna clean this up later!" Marietta dropped the broom with a soft thud on the floor and dashed for the bathroom. Soon after, a rushing hissing sound was heard coming from the bathroom and clouds of steam escaped from under the door. It didn't take five minutes for Marietta to take a bath. The red-headed girl scurried out of the bathroom dressed in a robe and went to the closet.

"Oh, oh, oh, I didn't notice the time! Now I'm going to be late!" Marietta opened the closet and there hung several identical uniforms; blue in color and had spiral patterns around the neck and on the sleeve hems. She pulled one of the uniforms out and put it on, adjusting the inner shirt a bit. Marietta checked on the time and saw that her time was running fast. She wrapped her long, dripping, red hair with a towel in a turban-like binding so that the back of the uniform won't get wet. Marietta sat down on the bed and started to put on her dark stockings, pulling them quickly up her legs. After she has put on all her clothes, Marietta now has to do the hardest task in fixing herself up- styling her long, red hair. She went towards the mirror on the wall and removed the towel turban from her head. Marietta's damp hair fell down on her back, as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Okay...how am I supposed to tie my hair if it is still wet?" Marietta muttered to herself. Her hair was draped on her shoulders and was already waving due to constantly being tied up in two tight buns. Marietta did her time-check and saw that she only had little time left. She shook her head and figured that it would take too long to dry and fix her hair. "Oooh, never mind this! I'll fix my hair in the Vareth restroom!" She squealed to herself, deciding that she let her red hair hang down to dry. Marietta picked up her books and exited her room, sighing over all the setbacks that happened this morning. Before leaving her room, Marietta took one last look at her disarranged room. It lay messed up. Marietta shook her head and closed the door in front of her.

-----

Marietta arrived at Vareth, a bit exhausted and still hungry. She gaited weakly towards the reception area to sign her name on the attendance sheet. Roche, the Vareth Institute receptionist, leaned forward a bit to see who was walking towards her. Behind her swirled glasses, there was an unknown girl walking towards her, her long red hair flowing behind her back. The girl approached the counter and asked for the attendance sheet. It was then that Roche noticed who the girl was.

"Marietta?" Roche asked instead of giving the attendance roster. "What happened? You look like you hadn't slept!" Roche exclaimed, examining Marietta's haggard face.

"Oh no, that's just the work of my alarm clock." Marietta responded, tucking stray strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Jill, huh?" Roche asked.

"Yup." Came Marietta's quick answer. Roche chortled a bit. Marietta half-smiled and asked for the attendance sheet once more. Roche shoved towards her a clipboard with a list of names of the people who just came in. Marietta leaned over and scribbled her name on the roster.

"Thanks, Roche." Marietta said, putting down the pen beside the attendance rota. Roche just nodded. Marietta then set off once more, now heading towards Star Tower, where her Elemental Magic class awaits. She was just in time, she thought. She checked her wristwatch and saw that she wasn't late at all. There was still 5 minutes 'till three. Marietta softly groaned to herself, thinking how ridiculous her rushing was. She could have eaten and fixed herself before going to Vareth, but her paranoia about being late came first. But who could blame her? Having Derek as a teacher demands extreme discipline and not to mention, punctuality.

"This just isn't my day…" Marietta said to herself, passing through the cafeteria and heading towards Star Tower. The automatic doors opened themselves for Marietta whenever she came near them, just like they do for every person who wanders around in Vareth. Marietta arrived at Star Tower and paused for a while to check on her classes.

"Hmm…3 PM, Star Tower research lab B1: Elemental Magic with Sir Derek." Marietta thought, cupping her chin with her hand. "Then Golem Construction at 4:30 PM with Ms. Ursula." She finished. "OK, onto Elemental Magic 101!" She said with a bit of exclamation. Marietta held all her textbooks in her arms, each discussing methods of utilizing the forces of water, fire, wind and earth for magical purposes. Marietta then headed towards the spiraling staircase leading down to the B1 research lab. The stack of books in Marietta's arms swayed with every step, because the pile was sort of high. Half-way on the stairs, one of Marietta's books fell from her arms and landed on the steps.

"Oh poo…" Marietta cursed under her breath, bending down on the steps to collect the fallen book. But then, something happened. Because of her chronic clumsiness, Marietta lost footing while bending down and slipped off the steps. Marietta felt her heart being swallowed. "A-AAAAHHHHH!" Marietta screamed fearfully, as her foot blundered from the step. The sound of an auto-door opening was then heard, and out came a beautiful woman— or a very handsome man? Whatever. Anyway, the person has just finished his class in the B1 lab and was about to go up the stairs, when he saw the outbalanced red-haired girl about to fall off.

"Oh no!" The young man (?) gasped softly to himself as he rushed to help Marietta before she injured herself. Marietta's foot couldn't maintain any more balance and slid down the stairs. Marietta fell backwards, screaming. She shut her eyes and clutched her books tightly in fear. The young lad rushed forward, his long silver hair gracefully gliding behind him. He held out his hands and as if fate had wished it, he caught Marietta before she fell down the stairs and injured herself. Marietta's willowy body rested in his hands, as her cherry-colored hair flowed down his arm. The young man looked at the person he saved. Marietta's eyes were shut tight, as her hands held onto her books for dear life. The young man smiled a bit, somehow seeing Marietta's appearance adorable. Marietta opened one eye, after realizing that she has not made contact with the cold, hard floor. She saw a soft, pretty face staring down at her. Marietta opened both her eyes and saw that the person who saved her was worried, proven by the bend of his brows.

"Are you alright?" The young man asked in his high voice. Marietta nodded, still a bit shocked after what happened. She then realized that was lying in the arms of a stranger. She immediately stood up, her face getting a bit red around the cheeks. "What happened to you?" The young man asked her afterwards.

"I just lost balance while picking up my book." Marietta explained, feeling so embarrassed. "I just screw up a lot. I'm just clumsy."

"Oh no, no. Don't worry. It happens to many people." Said the boy reassuringly. Marietta grinned. "Besides, you shouldn't be ashamed of being clumsy. That trait sets you apart and makes you unique." Marietta was taken back. She never looked at her clumsiness that way. She always considered it to be some kind of an absolute curse.

"…You're really optimistic, aren't you Felix?." Marietta said, looking sideways and feeling very embarrassed. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear once again. The boy let out a silent chuckle.

"Anyway, at least you didn't get hurt." Silver-haired Felix said with a nod. Marietta didn't say anything and just nodded back. The boy looked at his wristwatch and checked his schedule. "Hmm. Well, I must be going. Take care for the rest of the day." Felix said with a smile on his beautiful face.

"Y-Yes. You, too." Marietta said awkwardly. Felix nodded to her once more and walked past her. But then, Marietta called after him. The boy turned back and faced his beckoner.

"Yes?" Felix asked. Marietta's face emitted a light shade of pink and swayed from side to side in shyness.

"Thank you for saving me." She said coyly, looking at her feet.

"Do not mention it, Marietta." Felix answered politely. "I would hate it if I wasn't able to do anything." His smile widened as he walked off. Marietta's cheeks stayed red for a while. She was embarrassed in front of Felix, after giving him a "demonstration" of her accursed clumsiness. She gritted her teeth in frustration and mentally kicked herself for the spectacle she made. Marietta proceeded towards her class in the B1 research lab, while continually chastising herself in her thoughts.

-----

Felix continued up the stairs, until he saw something on the steps. It was a book. It was slightly thick and it was a bit heavy as well. He picked it up and looked at the cover. Felix chuckled, remembering how he also used to learn about magic.

"Elemental Manipulation Advanced Volume 2…" Felix read the title aloud. He then remembered when he also studied elemental magic. He remembered how he would sometimes stay up late just to figure out the right amount of power and the right movements needed to perform his trademark Cold Arrow. He would stay up 'till the early morning practicing with his Vathao, shooting frozen spikes through lifeless straw dummies. Felix was amused at these memories. He then breezed through the book and saw that whoever owned it must be very diligent. Normally, the textbooks of Vareth Students would be filled with doodles, especially those of the younger pupils. Students would doodle on the books to avoid boredom. But the student who owned the book must be really determined to be a first-class mage. There were elemental equations and spell formulas written beside the print, each appearing to be thought out carefully. Felix figured that the book belonged to one of Derek's students, since he was the only one who taught elemental magic. He opened the cover and looked behind it for a name. There was a sticker that said, "This book belongs to Marietta." And below it was Marietta's apartment address. The sticker had a design of red flowers, probably flowers from a foreign land.

"Oh…" Felix said in an unusually happy tone. He figured that Marietta would be missing her book. And Derek won't be too happy to find out that she came to class with incomplete materials. He figured he should return it…

"I think I'll…keep it for a while." He muttered to himself, softly chortling. He held Marietta's book in his right hand and continued up the stairs.

* * *

**Just a quick note: This fic is multi-chaptered and not a one-shot. Well, hope you like it so far. Don't forget to RnR:p**


	2. Detention

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.  
**A/N: The big part of this chaptered that is italicized reperesents a flashback.

Marietta entered the automatic door, carrying her books in her arms. Class hasn't started, for Derek was still not present. Faraus was already there, sitting in his usual place. He was always this early, as if someone will take his seat in the lab. Marietta took her place beside Faraus and settled her books on the round table in front of them. Faraus wasn't saying anything, like there was no one beside him. Marietta looked at him and saw that he was reading his textbook. Faraus would read a bit from the book and then jot down something on a piece of paper afterwards. Marietta leaned over a bit to see what he was reading. The book looked solid, with a hard-bound cover. Marietta could make out statements about the balance of the manipulated element and the strength of the staff. She then realized that Faraus was reading his copy of Elemental Manipulation Advanced. _Oh right! We do have an assignment on elemental equations!_ Marietta thought, snapping her fingers. _Boy…it took me a long time to figure out the proportional movement strength and the amount of elemental ore to perform the Water Blast spell!_ Marietta smiled at her thoughts. She then went through her pile of books to take one last look at her homework before passing it to Derek. _Heehee, I'm so glad I did my assignment! I don't know what I'll do if I forgot…it…?_ Marietta's train of thought immediately stopped when she didn't encounter her Elemental Manipulation textbook. She looked through her books once again, but didn't find the said book.

"Oh no! No, no, no!" Marietta panicked. Faraus stopped his work and looked at her with a wry expression on his face.

"Hmm…" Faraus muttered, raising an eyebrow at Marietta, who was still busy fidgeting. Marietta groaned heavily and slammed her face on her books. But then, a thought struck her. Didn't she just drop a book on her way down to the B1 research lab? Yes, and what a fool she made of herself! Marietta jolted her head immediately and snapped her fingers after recollecting her thoughts.

"Of course! The book I dropped is still there!" Marietta exclaimed, but was soon feeling pretty silly about her self. _Oh yeah…it's still there…WHY DIDN'T I PICK IT UP EARLIER?_ Marietta rolled her eyes as she stood up from her seat to collect her forgotten book. The door automatically opened itself for Marietta when she stood near it. But then, before she could take any step further, she was stopped by Derek who was standing directly in front of her.

"And just where do you think you're going, Marietta?" Derek asked, his eyes half-lidded. He just came down the stairs to his class. Marietta shrugged her shoulders, making Derek even more suspicious.

"I was just, err…getting my book from the, um…stairs." Marietta stammered, pointing a finger at the staircase behind Derek.

"Your book?" Derek asked in distrust, his face getting more cynical.

"Uh-huh. It fell off my arms when I was headed for class and I forgot to pick it up." Marietta said honestly, but Derek just wouldn't believe the story. Who could blame him? Forgetting to pick up something you just dropped is pretty hard to do.

"Right. Nice try, but I don't give bathroom breaks during my classes." Derek said flatly, walking past Marietta. He noticed that Marietta's hair wasn't in its usual style. "If you want to do your hair, Marietta, I suggest you fix it after Elemental Magic class." Derek added, settling his books and teaching manuals on the little table beside the chalk board. Faraus cleared his throat, but was obviously trying to stifle a chuckle. Marietta looked at her shoulders and saw her red hair draped over it. She frowned and tried to haggle with Derek over giving her a permit to leave.

"Please, sir! It's something for our Elemental Magic class." Marietta said. _Hehe, now he has no choice. He's gotta let me out._ She added in her thoughts.

"What is it?" Derek asked, not looking at Marietta and was browsing through his books.

"It's…erm…my assignment for today." Marietta explained, locking her hands behind her. Derek didn't say anything else other than a dull "Ah". "So, I really need my book, because my assignment's in there." Derek stopped flipping the pages of his book and looked at Marietta, who had a hopeful smile on her face.

"No." Derek said shortly before getting back to his reading. Marietta was truck dumb. "Your lack of responsibility needs to be remedied, Marietta. And I hope this incident teaches you well."

"B-But-" Marietta retorted, raising a finger.

"No buts! Your negligence brought this upon you. So if you mind, take your seat so we could begin!" Derek snapped, slamming his book close. Marietta dismally nodded and dragged herself to sit on her chair. Derek faced the board and started to write something on it. "'No buts!'? Tsk, yuck...that sounded so cliché." Derek grunted angrily under his breath. Marietta heaved a heavy sigh. She spent her night sitting in her desk, trying to figure out the proportional balance of elements, with only a dim lamp for a companion. She then started to mutter unintelligible sounds under her breath, probably cursing herself of being totally clumsy and distracted. Derek finished with the board and turned to face his class of two people.

"Good afternoon, people." Derek greeted Faraus and Marietta. "Today, we are going to discuss the equal properties and proportional balance of elements." He paused and looked at Faraus, then at Marietta. "Now, I gave you something to do yesterday, right?" Faraus nodded.

"Yes…" Marietta responded glumly.

"Alright then." Derek said, clapping his hands. "Since one of you had an attack of acute irresponsibility," Derek looked sharply at Marietta, who again had slammed her face on her books. Derek sighed and continued. "I expect to have only one assignment for today. Faraus, please hand over your paper." Faraus stood up and handed his paper over to Derek. Marietta didn't seem to notice. She was upset about many things. First, she spent her night doing that brutal assignment. Second, she forgot to pick up her book when she dropped it- which was like an automatic response of anyone who happens to experience dropping something. And third, all that work went down the drain. Marietta's exasperated moan was muffled by her book.

"Marrieta," Derek's voice rang in her ears. Marietta immediately pulled herself together and faced Derek.

"Yes, sir?" She asked politely, but was still feeling pretty down.

"You can submit your assignment tomorrow," Derek said, putting Faraus' work in a book. "But your grade won't be the same. Even if your work is A plus material, there will be some deductions to pay for your carelessness."

"O-OK. Got it." Marietta stammered. Derek nodded and got back to his lesson. Marietta and Faraus listened to Derek as he directed methods to calculate the stable proportion of elements and avoid grave mistakes.

"If you are trying to perform a spell which has high water concentration and then an earth spell with an even higher one," Derek paused to let out a small laugh. "Then prepare to do some major mud mopping. Instability of elements can lead to disastrous results, so it is important to mull things over and stay alert." Marietta and Faraus listened carefully, each jotting their own notes.

"And when I say alert, there is no margin for clumsiness." Derek said. It was as if the words hit Marietta hard on the head. She looked at Derek who looked back at her. "Got that, Marietta?"

"Uh-huh." She answered, looking up to Derek and brushed back some stray hair from her face. Marietta looked at her watch. Time seemed to fly so painfully slow. Marietta pouted and just hoped for class to be over.

-----

"This just isn't my day." Marietta said, looking at a piece of paper in her hand. She finally had the chance to go and fix her hair. Marietta went straight to the girl's room after Derek's class and spent her stay there pulling her red hair into two tight buns. Well anyway, She just came from the Star Tower research lab on the first floor, from her golem creation class. It seems that her luck just isn't cooperating with her today. After that little incident with Derek and her elemental balance assignment, Ursula just didn't leave her alone during golem construction class. Marietta looked at the piece of paper again. Written there were big, angry letters forming the word "DETENTION".

"Gee…now I have to stay an extra hour in here…" Marietta uttered. "I didn't even know that the Institute GAVE detention."

"Well, you do now! Hahahaha!" Johan remarked as he came from behind Marietta and walked passed her. Marietta's face creased in an annoyed frown, crumpling the detention slip in her hand. Marietta watched as the green-clad boy disappeared from her sight when he entered the auto-door. Marietta stood there for a few seconds with a frown on her face.

"…Ooooooohh! That guy just ticks me off!" Marietta screamed, pretending that she was strangling Johan. Why wouldn't she be mad? It was entirely Johan's fault why she was sent to detention. It was still so fresh in Marietta's memory, and she hated every moment she remembered it.

_Marietta arrived in the first floor lab to find that class hasn't started yet. There, on one of the seat of the round table, sat Johan, who was busy doing something with an oily bug- something which Marietta didn't want to know. Ursula was by the chalk board, organizing today's lesson in a chart. She didn't seem to notice anyone coming and going in the room and was totally absorbed in her work. Marietta sat in her seat next to Johan and put her books in front of her. On the round table were several items, which included bottles of ether, some animal hair and jars. Marietta looked at the corner of the chalk board and saw a semi-erased message written there._

"_Quiz today on golem movement and mobility…" Marietta read adjusting her tiny glasses a bit. "Oh yeah…oh, this is going to be one bloody test…" The students who pass Ursula's classes can be counted with human fingers. She gives exams so brutal, that procrastinating before them is complete suicide. Coming to Ursula's classes unprepared is a dangerous thing to do, so students know better than to slack off and horse around. With one final stroke, Ursula pulled the chalk away from the board and faced her students._

"_One, two…aren't there three of you in my class?" Ursula counted, seeing that one of her students is missing._

"_Franklin's out today." Johan reported, raising a hand. "He said he's sick."_

"_With what?" Ursula asked._

"_Acute acne and pore congestion." Johan finished, trying to suppress his laughter. "He came out from the restroom screaming about he couldn't show his face in public again." He added. Marietta bit her lip so that she'd avoid bursting in laughter. Ursula rolled her eyes._

"_Well, if you see Franklin, tell him that he's going to get more than a zit on his face if he keeps on skipping my classes." Ursula said to Johan, who was too busy laughing to listen. She then looked at her two remaining students. Johan stopped laughing and was now wiping tears from his eyes, while Marietta was staring blankly at her, her face without that usually happy glow. It was the only thing amiss. She had her red hair styled in their usual buns, her tiny green glasses were sitting comfortably on the bridge of her nose and her uniform was wrinkle-free. The glow of her face was the only thing absent. Ursula then started to brief her class on their exam for today._

"_Okay then. As you all know, we have a scheduled exam about golem movement today." Ursula said, looking over at the corner of the board. "I won't be giving any review before the exam, for I expect that you both have studied for today."_

"_Oh, I studied alright!" Johan has a reputation of being a liar. Not to mention being a sleaze, a jerk and a rat. Johan shouted it quite confidently, but there was an uncertain crook in his smile when he said it._

"_Me too!" Marietta said, somehow regaining the composure she lost from her last class. Johan then stuck out a tongue at her and taunted Marietta._

"_No you didn't!" Johan said while his tongue was stuck out. Marietta glared at him._

"_You'd better put that thing away." Marietta hissed, looking at his tongue. "It might attract flies." Ursula noticed the building tension between Johan and Marietta and decided to start the exam before anything else happens._

"_Ahem," Ursula cleared her throat. Marietta and Johan both jolted upright and listened to what their professor has to say. "In front of you are the materials that you will be using for today's exam. I expect you to create a golem that has excellent agility and can perform difficult body movements." Ursula then saw Johan raising his hand. "Yes, Johan?"_

"_So, you want us to create a golem that can do somersaults, or roundhouses?" Johan quipped, laughing to himself afterwards._

"_If my standards demands it, then yes." Ursula said forebodingly, glaring at Johan. The boy was surprised to hear that kind of answer and just stayed quiet. Marietta somehow smiled at this._

"_Now class, what I expect to see in your work is not the size of the golem," Ursula said, taking an immobile golem she created from one of the shelves. She then put it on the table and poured some ether inside it. A reaction then occurred and within moments, the golem started to move and nimbly did a backflip. "But its ability to execute agile movements that golem's can't normally do."_

"_Wow…" Both students said in awe, seeing the golem do a cartwheel. After the little demonstration, Marietta jotted last minute notes and formulated calculations, while Johan sat complacently, still playing with his oily bug. Ursula looked at the clock above the chalk board and waited for the hand to strike 4:40. When the hand was a few seconds away, Ursula faced Marietta and Johan to give last minute instructions._

"_Please clear your desks of unnecessary objects and get ready for the exam. I demand there be no cheating during the test.." Ursula said to both of them. "The moment I catch you in the act of leeching, your golem will automatically be graded zero and you will be sent to detention." Johan gulped. "You have 30 minutes…begin!" Ursula said, giving the "go" signal. Marietta and Johan gathered their respective materials and quickly got to work. Marietta was a bit sure of what she was doing. And why wouldn't she be? She always listens to Ursula during discussions and reads her golem books arduously. Marietta smiled as she formed the golem's frame from the provided wire. Johan, however, was already struggling with his golem. He squirmed nervously in his seat and was looking at the materials. He didn't know what to use first and didn't know the first step in making a golem. Johan glanced sideways to Marietta and saw that she was forming the golem's frame from the wire._

"_Is there a problem, Johan?" Ursula asked, catching Johan looking at Marietta's work._

"_Uh, no! Not at all!" Johan lied, a big foolish grin taking over his face._

"_Then eyes at your own golem." Ursula said as she squinted in disbelief. Johan did what he was told._

"_Hmm…this frame will increase speed, but will reduce the golem's strength needed to perform body movements…" Marietta muttered under her breath, surveying the metal frame she made. "What if I tweak it…" Marietta said, twisting the arms of the frame into the shape she wanted. "There, perfect!." She said proudly. Johan looked over to her and started whispering to her._

"_Hey…hey, Marietta…" Johan murmured, trying to steer clear of Ursula's watchful eyes. Marietta looked at him with an annoyed scowl. "What's the first step?" Marietta ignored him and continued to work. But Johan was persistent. "Hey…what do I do with the wire?" He hissed. Marietta's narrow green eyes widened in irritation._

"_Could you leave me alone? I'm working here!" Marietta whispered vehemently. Ursula heard Marietta's hisses._

"_Marietta! Mind your own work." Ursula snapped at the redheaded girl._

"_But Johan, he-" Marietta cut herself off when she saw Ursula's deadly stare. If Derek was a strict teacher, Ursula's a different story. Marietta frowned at Johan, who smiled at her mischievously. Marietta put her books between Johan and her so the little toad couldn't see what she's doing. Johan tried to look over the pile of books and then started to pester Marietta again._

"_Hey, hey! Marietta!" Johan's whispers seemed to penetrate the wall of books. "Do I pour the ether on the golem or inside it?" He asked. Marietta's hand rolled into a fist, as she shut her eyes in exasperation._

"_Shut up!" Marietta hissed back at him, but it was loud enough for Ursula to hear._

"_Would it kill you to stay focused on your own work?" Ursula suddenly barked at Marietta, which caused her to jerk nervously._

"_But Johan won't stop bothering me!" Marietta said, standing up and pointing to Johan. Ursula's face was blank. She looked at Johan and saw the boy quietly working on his golem._

"_And the thigh wire is twisted with the, shin wire! And the shin wire is twisted with the, leg wire! " Johan sang innocently, acting like he's got nothing to do with what's happening. He then looked at the two women who were surveying him. "Oh, hey there! What do you think of this frame? Does it make my golem look fat?" Ursula then directed her attention back at Marietta, who was dumbstruck, but was completely infuriated._

"_You were saying?" Ursula said bluntly._

"_But he…I…he kept on-" Marietta said, pointing at Johan, then at herself, then back at Johan again. Ursula and Johan looked at her, both raising an eyebrow. Seeing how the sly weasel got away with murder, Marietta just stayed silent and got back to her work._

"_One more fracas, and it's off to detention with you, Marietta." Ursula said warningly. But then, her voice became soft and somewhat caring. "Try to avoid anymore commotions. You cannot afford to get a zero on this exam." Ursula finished._

"_OK." Marietta had no choice but to agree to her professor's wishes. Marietta then started to mold the clay plaster around her wire frame and gave the golem its physical features. Marietta took great care of molding the arms and legs, for they are important in optimizing the golem's movements. And just when she thought the nuisance has died, Johan's voice came to pester her once again._

"_Hey, Marietta! Do really need to follow the wire frame? What if I don't want to?" Johan asked his stupid question. Marietta did her best to shut out his voice from her head. The redheaded mage didn't say anything and continued with her golem. "Hey, Marietta! Marietta! Marietta! Marietta!"_

"_Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Marietta muttered to herself every time Johan called her name. It was working pretty well at this point. Ignoring Johan was not easy, but it was the only thing she can do to focus on her work. Marietta then finished the clay around the golem's frame and was now ready for chemical synthesis. Marietta made sure that the clay layer was not too thick or too thin, as it could constrict the movements or allow too much mobility that could spin the golem out of control. She put in the animal hair inside the hollow golem and got the ether ready for synthesis. Going back to Johan now. He was still not working well on his golem and just finished a measly percent of his work at this point. Time was running out fast, and Johan knew he was getting left behind. He took a quick look at Marietta above the pile of books and saw that she was getting ready to pour the ether on her golem._

"_Marietta! Help me out here!" Johan hissed, trying to get Marietta to come at his aid._

"_That's your problem. Leave me alone, Johan!" Marietta whispered back, handling the ether very carefully. Johan grumbled unintelligibly under his breath and looked angrily at Marietta._

"_...If I can't finish my golem," Johan whispered noxiously, taking out something from his pocket. It was the oily bug that he was playing with earlier. "Then you won't either, Marietta." Johan then released the oily bug on the floor, near Marietta's chair. The bug crawled up the cylindrical seat and up Marietta's uniform. The oily bug slowly inched it's way into her clothes._

"_Easy now…easy, Marietta…" Marietta said to herself, trying to avoid her clumsiness from kicking in at this very crucial moment. "Not too much ether…not too much…" Marietta found herself chanting that phrase, as the ether from the flask flowed in a steady stream into he hollow golem. "Easy…easy…what the…WHOA!" Marietta dropped the bottle of ether on the floor, shattering it in a loud crash. Marietta lost balance on her chair and fell on her back._

"_Marietta!" Ursula shrieked, running over to her student. Johan laughingly watched, as Marietta struggled on the floor. The ether spilled ether on the floor then emitted a horrible toxic smell, which was filling the room quite fast. Ursula knew that the students' health were the first priority._

"_Marietta, Johan, out! OUT, NOW!" Ursula yelled at her students, pointing to the door. "What are you waiting for? Get out now!" She helped Marietta up on her feet and told her to vacate the lab. Johan hurriedly dashed out of the room, now feeling nervous rather than amused. As Marietta got up and ran, the weird, crawling feeling in her back disappeared. The oily bug dropped out of Marietta's uniform when she stood up and ran out of the lab. Johan and Marietta waited outside the lab along the stair landing, both still nervous of what happened. Ursula was still in the lab, and hasn't come out yet. Marietta was engulfed in shock, as Johan still found room to annoy the hell out of her._

"_You killed Ms. Ursula, Marietta!" Johan said, eyes wide. "You killed our golem construction professor!" At this point, Marietta could no longer hold her frustration. She grabbed Johan by his collar and looked at him with flaring emerald eyes._

"_You…little…weasel! You put the bug in my shirt!" Marietta screamed at Johan. Just then, the auto-door of the first floor lab shot open and out came a cloud of pinkish-purple smoke. Ursula emerged from it, wearing a gasmask. She swatted some pink smoke away from her face and walked over to Marietta and Johan._

"_Ms. Ursula!" Marietta and Johan said in unison. Ursula took off her gasmask and took in a gust of air. The surrounding atmosphere smelled of ether._

"_Well, looks like we won't be using this lab for a while." Ursula said, looking back. There were clouds of pink smoke escaping from the exhaust slots of the auto-door._

"_What will happen to our golems?" Johan asked. Ursula sighed. She then looked at Marietta._

"_I'm just going to base your grades on your recitation." Ursula said. Johan said nothing. "As for you, Marietta…I am sorry to do this, but you cost yourself and your classmate a very important part of your grade."_

"_Yeah, Marietta, you did!" Johan taunted, but was then stopped by Ursula. Marietta frowned at him._

"_But something crawled into my shirt! It took me by surprise!" Marietta explained. "It was Johan's oily bug!" She said, pointing to Johan like a little girl. Johan acted as if he hasn't done anything._

"_Was it my fault that you played with my bug during our test?" Johan asked angrily. "No! So this is your fault! You're so clumsy, Marietta! You ruined our lab!" Johan added._

"_Why you little-" Marietta was then stopped when Ursula handed her a piece of paper. "What's this?"_

"_Because of what you did to our lab, your disruption during our exam and for accusing your innocent classmate of something he didn't do," Ursula started to explain to Marietta what the paper is. "I am hereby sending you to detention, Marietta." Marietta's world crumbled right in front of her._

"_WHAT?" Marietta shouted in disbelief. "I haven't done anything! If there's anyone to be sent in detention, it's him!" Marietta retorted angrily, pointing a solid finger at Johan._

"_That is enough!" Ursula interrupted, blood flooding her face. "That is enough out of you, Marietta. Now, report to the detention room after your school hours." Marietta didn't say anything, but it can be seen from her face that she was very angry. Veins in her cheeks were engorged with blood, making them very red and irritated. Her narrow green eyes flared wildly, losing their cheerful shine and was now filled with frustrated glints. Marietta nodded to Ursula and didn't say anything more. She looked at Johan, who stuck out his tongue at her. Marietta gritted her teeth at him._

"_Goodbye, Ms. Ursula." Marietta said. Though angry, she didn't forget to still respect her professor. She turned her back on Ursula and Johan and went out of the Star Tower, head full of frustration and fist full of unreleased tension._

Marietta headed to the reception area to ask Roche where the detention room was. Marietta went to the lobby to see Roche browsing through the Vareth manuscripts in the drawers. Marietta walked up to her. Roche noticed Marietta standing beside her and saw that the girl isn't too happy and cheerful.

"What's wrong, Marietta?" Roche asked concernedly, seeing the frustration in Marietta's usually happy face.

"Can you tell me where I can find the detention room, Roche?" Marietta asked exhaustedly, leaning on the drawers. Roche almost dropped the document she was reading when she heard Marietta say the word "detention".

"Come again? Did you say, 'detention'?" Roche asked in disbelief, adjusting her swirled glasses. Marietta nodded. It hurt to talk. "You? You in detention?"

"Yes, Roche. Me in detention." Marietta responded bluntly. She really didn't want to keep up this little word game with Roche. All Marietta wanted to do now was to end this day and sleep in her bed. "So, could you please tell me where the detention room is?"

"Oh yes. Sorry. It's just that, you of all people…" Roche said, not able to look at Marietta.

"Yes, yes, I know. It's not really me to hang out in detention." Marietta took the words right out of Roche's mouth. "So…where is the godforsaken detention room?"

"It's on the second floor. It's the room beside Mr. Cecil's desk." Roche said. Marietta smiled weakly and thanked her.

"Thanks, Roche." Marietta said, walking past Roche, who still couldn't believe that Marietta was sent to detention.

"Marietta!" Roche called after her. Marietta did a quick turn around and asked what's wrong. "I just can't believe you're in detention!"

"You'd better believe it." Marietta said unemotionally, finally climbing the stairs to the second floor.

-----

Marietta reached the second floor landing and saw Cecil seated at his desk. He seemed so preoccupied with something he is reading on the desk. He didn't notice anyone on the second floor and was busy reading the thing on his desk.

"If I increase the slots for element ores in the staff, then there will be room for multiple spells." Cecil mumbled, trying to design a new prototype for a Vareth staff. "Gah, no! That will make the staff unstable!" Marietta didn't say anything. She looked over to the other side and saw that she was directly in front of an auto-door. There was sign hanging on it which read, "Detention". Marietta always noticed this door, but never really knew what it was for. It always had a barricade in front of it. She then wondered if they opened the detention room just now because she got sent to it.

"Haha, silly me. I really gotta stop these weird thoughts from invading my head." Marietta chimed, smiling to herself. Marietta took a deep breath. She has never been to detention before. But what was there to be afraid about? Vareth Institute only has a handful of students, and she knew them all. Marietta then smiled at this thought. Instead of feeling nervous, she was pretty confident. Marietta stood in front of the auto-door, and instantly, the door opened upwards. She walked into the room and saw that it was very different from the research labs in the towers. There were ten seats; arranged in two lines and five rows. There was a big desk up in the front, and a large chalk board behind it. On the board were poorly written letters saying the words, "Keep quiet and listen!". The chairs, the desk and the big board were all in front of Marietta. There was someone seated in the very last seat of the first line. From the red color of his uniform, Marietta knew who he was.

"Newcomer, yo." Ernest said in a garbled manner after hearing the auto-door open. He turned and saw Marietta behind him. "Redhead chick…yo." Vareth's resident rocker greeted.

"Hi, Ernest." Marietta greeted back, raising a hand at him. Ernest said nothing, but had his usual twisted smile plastered on his face. Marietta figured that all that head-banging and rocking out Ernest has been doing finally landed him in trouble. Marietta looked over at the desk and saw that someone was sitting behind it. Marietta couldn't see the person's face, for he was reading a big book which covers his entire face.

"Sit in the front row, if you please." The person said. His voice seemed so familiar. Marietta raised an eyebrow. She reluctantly went to the front row and sat there. Marietta continued to observe the person behind the desk. He wasn't moving. He wasn't even turning the pages of his big book. Marietta then looked at what he was reading.

"Elemental Manipulation Advanced, Volume 2." Marietta read. She then remembered her little lecture about responsibility given by Derek. Marietta was still frustrated over that. "You know…I dropped a book just like that earlier, but I forgot to pick it up. It's pretty stupid…"

"You don't say?" The person behind the book said, his voice seemed a little happy for Marietta. Marietta frowned.

"And then Sir Derek won't let me retrieve it. And now it's gone to who-knows-where." Marietta said bitterly, pouting and folding her arms across her chest. She then looked at the book once more. It seemed so familiar. It had a white streak across the spine, just like her book. "Hmmm…that white streak…it's just kinda like my book, you know."

"Really?" The person asked, and was then followed by a soft chuckle. "What if I told you that this was yours?" Marietta was immediately struck by this statement. The person closed the big book and put it down on the desk. Marietta's eyes widened the moment she saw just who she has been talking with. His shiny silver hair was totally unmistakable, and his perfectly carved face was a complete giveaway. He smiled at Marietta quite happily, as the girl was still surprised to see him.

"Felix?" Marietta almost choked and ate her words. Felix let out an amused chortle. Marietta couldn't explain it, but why this much surprise? I mean, it was _just_ Felix…but the again, Marietta somehow knew that Felix…was more than a mere "_just_".


	3. Resentment of the Misunderstood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.  
**A/N: Hey, hey! For those Radiata fans, let's celebrate the New Year! Please check my page to see a New Year fanart I did. Hehe, and it features Felix and Marietta!

"And then he goes on calling, 'Marietta! Marietta! Help me!'…geez, it was so annoying." Marietta complained, mimicking Johan while recounting her unfortunate day to Felix. He already returned Marietta's Elemental Manipulation text, which was now cozily resting with its fellow textbooks. Felix merely nodded at her anecdotes, laughing a bit in between them. "If I had a short fuse, that boy is long gone dead."

"What's done is done. There is no more reason to dwell around it." Felix said comfortingly, chuckling a bit after hearing Marietta out. "What matters is that you didn't give into letting him cheat. Honesty is the best policy, like they always say." Marietta felt a lot better after talking with someone and releasing all her tension. Before long, she found herself giggling uninhibitedly, enjoying her conversation with Felix.

"Heehee, yeah, but I got sent to detention." Marietta said, surveying the room. Ernest has begun playing his guitar in the back row, completely violating the detention rules. Felix didn't seem to mind. In fact, he found the music rather entertaining. Marietta and Felix enjoyed having that little background music Ernest provided while they talked.

"He really is something." Marietta casually said. "Ernest, I mean. Sometimes I wonder if he really cares about his studies here in Vareth. Most of the time, I see him strumming on his guitar."

"Yes. I do, too." Felix agreed, his eyes getting a bit half-lidded. "He seems to be doing well with his studies. But I guess this time his rocker instinct really propelled him straight into the mouth of trouble."

"What really happened to him?" Marietta asked.

"He got into a little spat with Ardoph." Felix narrated, resting his arms on the desk. "Well I cannot really call it an argument, since Ernest cannot come up with a comprehensible statement." He added, brushing away some stray silver hair.

"Why? What happened?" Marietta questioned, getting more and more curious about what happened between Ernest and Ardoph.

"It seems that Ardoph wanted Ernest to perform a high-level fire spell," Felix continued. "But Ernest hasn't learned it yet, so he refused. But you know Ardoph. He doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

"Oh yeah…so then what happened?" Marietta asked pensively, recalling that Ardoph is a very demanding person.

"Ardoph was relentless, though. He kept on asking Ernest to do what he can't execute." Felix said. "And since Ernest can't do it, he just asked Ardoph if he could go out and play his guitar."

"He what?" Marietta wanted to make sure that she heard right. Starting a fire with Ardoph was no joke. He isn't the compassionate type who'd understand if you can do something or not.

"He asked if he could play his guitar." Felix repeated. Marietta shook her head, making clicking sounds with her mouth. "After that, Ardoph didn't want to prolong their discussion. He immediately sent Ernest to detention." Felix said passively, ending the story. Marietta didn't see anything exciting at all, just like Felix. Ernest didn't seem to mind them talking about him. Or he just didn't know, since he was so consumed in playing his guitar?

"That was…short." Marietta uttered, looking sideways. Felix heaved a heavy sigh.

"You know, it saddens me somehow." Felix said, leaning against his chair. Marietta could hear the creaking of the wooden seat when Felix rested on it.

"What does?" Marietta curiously inquired.

"It saddens me to think that the people like Ernest are often pushed, do you get what I mean?" Felix said, his voice a bit disappointed. "Sure he is different, but I think that is no reason to urge him to do something he cannot perform."

"I get it." Marietta said in response. "Yeah…I perfectly get what you mean…" She remembered how Derek didn't even feel the slightest tinge of consideration when she forgot her book. He knows that Marietta suffers from constant clumsiness, but he still demands so much of her. He doesn't even think considerately of her. Felix then continued.

"People like Ernest…they stand out." Felix said contemplatively, absently looking at the desk's wooden surface. "I'm just so disappointed how people don't really understand them. People like him, for me, make this world a far more interesting place." Marietta smiled at him. She was happy to know someone who has a broad mind; someone who sees the good in the people who are different. Marietta was relieved to know that unprejudiced and considerate people like Felix still exist in the world today.

"You really bring justice to those who are misunderstood." Marietta softly mumbled. Felix chortled, looking at his wristwatch.

"It just makes me sad." He said, standing up from the desk and started to erase the board. "Being misunderstood does have its downsides. I should know." Marietta knew all about his mistaken identity problem. She knew how troubled and pestered Felix is of his fellow men constantly stalking him, thinking he's a woman. Even some of the females in Radiata also think he's is a woman, but Marietta just couldn't understand why. Marietta watched as Felix erased the big, messy words on the board. Never did it hit her that Felix was female. She just never saw him like that. Marietta saw and knew that Felix was a man the first time she met him. And she never thought twice.

"You know, Felix…I just don't understand why they think you're a woman." Marietta said out of the silence. Felix stopped for a while, but then continued erasing the board afterwards.

"Me neither." Came Felix's response, wiping away the chalk trails from the board. "Maybe it is because of my hair, or my body build. Or maybe it is my voice? I don't know. But this is the way I am. I didn't expect that people would react this way towards my appearance." Marietta looked sideways. She felt the blood in her veins rushing really fast. They all seem to be going to her face.

"Well, I don't think you're a woman at all. Never ever." Marietta was sort of oblivious of her words, as they all came out quite unconsciously. Blood rushed to her cheeks, giving them a rosy red tint. Felix felt Marietta's words dart through his mind. No one has ever told that to him. Often, many people would say, "I could've sworn you were a woman!" or, "So you're a dude! I always thought you were a chick!" when they find out that Felix wasn't a woman. Felix shrugged at these thoughts. But never did he hear someone tell him that they knew he was a man all along. He stopped and put the eraser down on the chalk ledge. Felix looked over his shoulder and saw Marietta's coy face burning up in a hot red color. He knew that the girl wasn't lying to make him feel better. He felt her sincerity. Felix turned around, a blank expression on his face. He went around the big desk and near Marietta's seat. Marietta's green eyes waited intently for something Felix might say. The silver-haired young man smiled at her instead.

"Thank you, Marietta." Felix muttered softly. "That is the nicest thing someone has ever told me." Marietta nodded quickly, trying to hide her face from Felix. She couldn't explain it, but she just felt so shy and light around Felix. Most of the time, Marietta has to be extremely careful not to land herself in some sort of trouble because of her clumsiness. But when Felix is with her, everything is just relaxed and uninhibited. In short, Marietta feels secure whenever Felix is there.

"You…are welcome…" Marietta responded bashfully. Just then, both of their attentions were diverted to Ernest. The music Ernest was playing suddenly changed from a rippling rock solo to a mellow acoustic melody. Felix glanced at Ernest and then at Marietta, who did the same. Their eyes met in a confused connection.

"Ernest," Felix was about to ask when he was cut off.

"I shred like wild guy," Ernest grumbled. "But now I play mellow music to set the mood for dude and chick…yo." Ernest grinned, looking at Felix and Marietta while plucking the strings of his guitar slowly.

"W-What?" Marietta asked, her face tinted with a tone of crimson. A hot streak of pink dashed across Felix's face, as his ears started to emit the same color. Marietta's face was getting as red as her hair. Felix regained his composure and cleared his throat.

"Erm! Oh, that time already?" Felix said, a bit agitated. He hurriedly rolled up his sleeve and pretended to check his watch. Marietta could see that Felix was shaking. She giggled to herself, seeing Felix's nervous trembling somehow charming. Felix walked over to Ernest and forced him to stand up and leave.

"Dude, I'm in guitar-playing zone, yo." Ernest drabbled. "It's like a DND state, dude…do not disturb…'kay?"

"Yes, yes. Well, you can be in your 'guitar-playing zone' somewhere else." Felix said hastily, trying to rid the detention room of Ernest. "And you can resume your state of DND there as well."

"…Vant some alone time vith the lady, eh dude?" Ernest suddenly blurted out, smiling at Felix. Felix was dumbfounded.

"Yes- I mean **NO!** Oh, would you please go now? Your detention time is over!" Felix lied just to get Ernest to leave, sighing heavily afterwards. Ernest smiled and winked behind his dark specs.

"I get you. I'll be leaving now." Ernest got up from his seat while grinning at Felix. The grin was sort of creepy, but it was better than being continuously embarrassed in front of Marietta by Ernest. Ernest started walking towards the auto-door like a drunken man. "Geez, silver-haired dude's total putty around redhead chick." Ernest added under his breath. Felix threw himself into a seat after Ernest was gone from the detention room.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!'" Marietta joked, gathering her books and arranging them. She settled them on the desk in front of her and looked at Felix. "What happened to 'Sure he is different, but I think that is no reason to urge him to do something he doesn't want to?'"

"That was a different scenario. I wasn't forcing him to go." Felix said, reclining his back on the seat's rest. "Besides, he was happy to leave."

"Really?" Marietta asked in a sardonic tone. Felix nodded. "Hmm, I could've sworn you wanted him gone because you were being flustered."

"Flustered? I certainly am not!" Felix snapped defensively, his hands quivering a bit. Marietta let out a mocking laugh and stood up from her chair.

"Sure you are. All that trembling shows how collected you are." Marietta scoffed, walking towards Felix with her books in her arms. Felix glanced at his hands and immediately froze them when he saw them shaking. Marietta guffawed and settled in a seat beside Felix.

"His detention time was over anyway. Ernest had to leave." Felix lied, not making eye contact with Marietta. The redheaded girl shook her head and continued to tease Felix.

"Right. You were so totally fluster-" Marietta stopped when Felix suddenly put a finger on her lips. He withdrew his finger from her face and looked at her with a strong pair of crystalline eyes.

"I had to make him leave because I don't want to get embarrassed in front of you." Felix said, his head down. Marietta's attention was called.

"What?" She asked, voice null of emotions. Felix immediately tried to cover up what he said with a lie.

"Nothing. Never mind." Felix hastily said. Marietta didn't say anything. Felix then began to tell something to her. "You said that you knew me as a man from the start. Telling me that made me invest my trust in you …" Felix said. Marietta nodded in response. "Believe it or not, you are the first one to see my real identity immediately, unlike those foolish others who are easily blinded by outside appearances."

"Oh, so you are saying that you trust me because I didn't jump into conclusions?" Marietta asked, her voice caring and sweet.

"Yes, exactly." Felix sighed. "Even Mr. Ross and Mr. Cecil thought I was a girl when they first saw me. But you…you looked beyond that, Marietta. And I appreciate that. I just don't want to be embarrassed and flustered in front of a friend…"

Marietta understood how much it meant to Felix to be considered a man. Who wouldn't be frustrated and freaked out if you are constantly hounded by your fellow men, who are trying to stalk you and date you? Felix is always trying to prove to people that he's not a woman, but the stubborn people just won't listen.

"You're welcome." Marietta said, smiling slightly at Felix.

"I-I-I know that you do not fully understand why I act this way to that little thing you said." Felix suddenly stammered. "But it really means a lot."

"Oh, I know all about being misunderstood." Marietta responded, resting her head on the desk. "No one seems to care about my…'condition'. They know all about my clumsiness, but they neglect it inconsiderately. It kind of makes me mad sometimes." She added quite resentfully.

"Well, well…we share something in common then." Felix uttered while getting off the chair. Marietta said nothing. Felix went up to her and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess we do." Marietta murmured sadly. "I've never really told anyone how I really feel when people ask so much of me while I suffer from my clumsiness. You're the first one to know how resentful I often feel about insensitive people."

"No kidding." Felix said. He then looked at his watch again, for real this time. It was 8:00 in the evening. "Hmm…looks like you did your detention time already. It's time to leave." Marietta heaved a humongous relieved sigh.

"Finally!" Marietta exclaimed, launching herself off the chair excitedly. "I can't believe all that time was wasted in here…" She then looked at Felix, whose face was blank.

"…Was your time really wasted, Marietta?" Felix suddenly asked, his eyes welling with wistfulness. Marietta broke her eye contact with him and looked sideways. It was strange. Detention is boring, as you are not allowed to talk to anyone. But in Marietta's case, she actually _enjoyed_ being in detention this time. But she knew, if Felix wasn't here and someone else took charge of the detainees, she would've suffered severely. Marietta redirected her eyes at Felix, who did same to her. Their eyes met.

"No. No it wasn't." Marietta answered, smiling. In fact, she was very happy she got sent to detention and got to talk with Felix. A little _too_ happy. Felix's melancholic face lit up. "Thanks for the good conversation."

"Yes, thank you as well." Felix responded. Then there was a short lull. Felix looked up at the ceiling why Marietta looked at her shoes.

"Well…I'd better get going. I-I…I still have lots to do at home." Marietta stuttered, giggling nervously afterwards. Felix nodded firmly, but there was a small smile on the corner of his lips. Before Marietta could take one step further, she felt a hand on her arm, trying to prevent her to leave.

"Wait. I'd like to er…walk you home." Felix fumbled with his words. He felt his face getting warm again. "I want to make sure you get to your home…urm…safe." He finished. Marietta couldn't do anything but smile.

"But my house is so near! What could happen?" Marietta asked him.

"Please…let me." Felix almost begged. Marietta realized that the young man wasn't joking. She felt so blissful; she felt a different feeling. It wasn't like the usual happiness you feel when you talk to your friends or get a really good present. It was something else, far beyond a simple smile and a plain laugh. Marietta felt as if her heart was ecstatic as well.

"Sure. Let's go." Marietta said, giving Felix a smile he has never seen before. A smile that was needless of words. Felix felt his mouth open slightly, but immediately regained composure. Marietta laughed and went ahead of him. Felix heaved a sigh and followed the girl out the auto-door.

But in his mind, when he said that he didn't want to get embarrassed in front of Marietta because she was a friend, Felix knew perfectly that he was lying- both to Marietta and to his self. There was a far heavier reason beyond that. He didn't want to show her that he was easily shaken and flustered. He didn't want to show her he was weak, because he had to project strength…

Strength that he needs to protect her always, because it was just now he realized how special she is to him.


	4. A Perfect Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.  
**A/N: As of this point in this fic, I'm officially moving the rating from K plus to T. Some scenes of this chapter are not meant for the younger crowd.

Felix trailed behind Marietta as they went to the apartment building. He was keeping watch for any shady characters that may be lurking around. It was strange if you were there to look at it. The distance between the Institute and the apartment building was no farther than a whole street block. Marietta occasionally turned back to glance at Felix. She found what he's doing really funny, as he kept watch for what he calls "shameless scoundrels". Marietta saw him walking really cautiously, checking in every direction.

"You know, where we're going isn't exactly miles away." Marietta joshed suddenly. "No one's gonna attack us, Felix. Try to relax." Felix sighed, his shoulders dropping.

"It's just that, I've seen a lot of nasty faces skulking around lately…" Felix explained. He recalled seeing people, mostly from the Void Community, prowling the streets of Radiata more often now. And he even caught some of them trying to fish out his laundry from the clothesline in his apartment yard. Felix shrugged.

"You can stop worrying now. We're here." Marietta laughed, turning the knob of the entrance door. Both of them entered the Leopearl Apartments building and ascended up the first flight of stairs.

"So, which room do you reside in?" Felix asked while going up the stairs behind Marietta.

"Room 201." Marietta answered. Just then, it hit her. Earlier today, her alarm clock exploded and left her room to lie in a big mess. Marietta stopped a while. "Oh no! I completely forgot!" She exclaimed suddenly, running ahead of Felix and quickly reaching the second floor landing.

"Huh? Marietta, wait!" Felix said, chasing after her up the remaining steps. Marietta reached the last door of the level and quickly opened it. She dropped her books after being greeted by the great mess that is her apartment room.

"Really…this just isn't my day. Ohh…" Marietta sadly muttered under her breath. Felix caught up to her afterwards, panting a bit. He noticed Marietta standing frozen in front of her apartment room and decided to check things out.

"Marietta, what's wrong?" Felix asked, going to Marietta. All the girl could do was lift a finger and point into the interior of Room 201. Felix became as still as Marietta, eyes wide open. "What happened here?" Felix asked her, seeing how every bit of furniture out of place and scattered inside the room. "It looks like a smilodon mangled your room…"

"No, it's more on the lines of 'exploding alarm clock'." Marietta said, letting out a sigh. Felix chuckled a bit.

"Jill, huh?" he asked.

"Yup." Marietta responded, going into her room. She tossed her pile of books on a nearby table and raised her arms. "Well…here we are- Casa de Marietta. Make yourself at home." Marietta said, her voice devoid of all feeling except for sarcasm. A picture hanging on the wall fell on the floor with a crash. Felix couldn't say anything except for an awkward, "Erm". He then broke the silence by offering to help Marietta with fixing up.

"Say…do you mind if I help you with your furniture?" Felix offered shyly, as Marietta went to the room's small kitchen. Marietta opened the refrigerator (A/N: I'm not really sure if they do have fridges in Radiata, but hey…) and pulled out a small, chilled bottle.

"Huh? No, no. I got this." Marietta responded, twisting the bottle cap open. "It's gonna way too much trouble for you anyway…" She added.

"No, I insist. By the looks of your room, I say you could use a helping hand." Felix said, looking around the disarrayed room.

"It's just too much bother. You should get going." Marietta took a big gulp out of the small bottle, immediately halving its content. "Ahh! I'm so glad they made this Celestial Nectar Juice. It kinda gives you that extra boost and it makes you feel alive!" Felix didn't seem to catch the statement about the juice.

"Are you absolutely sure you can handle your chore?" Felix asked again. Marietta nodded, finishing the remaining half of the juice and raising a thumb. Felix was disappointed because Marietta won't let him help her. "Hmm, OK. If you say so." Felix said, heading slowly towards the staircase. But then he stopped and turned around when he heard his name.

"Felix!" Marietta said, going out of her room and running to him. Felix faced her and smiled. "I just wanna say, thanks…y'know, for walking me home and making sure no 'shameless scoundrels' came after me." Marietta imitated Felix when she gave emphasis to "shameless scoundrels".

"Ahaha, do not mention it, Marietta!" Felix laughed heartily, his eyes happy and clear. Marietta laughed along with him. Felix liked to see her happy. It suits her personality- bubbly and cheerful. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight." Marietta said, tilting her head a bit. Felix went off towards the stairs, while Marietta headed back into her room. But as soon as Marietta stepped back inside, she was overcome by the same shock. There stood in front if her, the disarrayed apartment room 201.

"Oh…poo!" Marietta exclaimed, eyes wide in alarm. (A/N: I wish I could make Marietta say the bad s-word, but this is a K plus fic, so I had to settle with "poo".) Felix, however, was heading down the stairs with a small smile on his face.

"Three, two," Felix counted down, folding his fingers with each number. "One."

"**FEEELIIIX!**" Came Marietta's distressed voice immediately. Felix shook his head while smiling and turned around to see that Marietta chased after him. She stood at the topmost step, panting a bit. "Could you…uh…lend me a hand?" Asked Marietta sheepishly. Felix nodded, with a bit of a satisfied smirk on his face.

-----

"What exactly…happened…urgh…here?" Felix asked while pushing a cabinet towards a corner. He took in some air and wiped some sweat from his forehead. Marietta was busy throwing the dirty sheets into the washing machine (A/N: Again, I don't know if they HAVE washing machines there…) in the tiny laundry room.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But to make it short," Marietta said, sorting the colored pillowcases from the white sheets. "I volunteered to test the exploding clock, it worked, and now we're cleaning the mess it made." Felix laughed, finally getting the cabinet secure in a corner. Marietta put some detergent inside the washing machine and began to launder the soiled sheets.

"Does this mean you won't be doing anymore volunteer testing?" Felix asked, dragging a chair.

"Considering what happened to this place, then I'd have to say no." Marietta jested, leaving the laundry room to help Felix with the furniture. She saw him trying to move the large closet to its proper place. Felix was having a hard time moving it. Marietta quickly came to his aid. "Oh, careful! This one's heavy."

"Thank you." Felix said gratefully, as they pushed the big closet towards the wall. Felix got rid of the dust in his hands afterwards. Marietta checked the clock to see that almost an hour has passed.

"Hey, it's almost nine. Shouldn't you be going home?" Marietta asked afterwards. She then went back to the laundry room to get some clean sheets from the cabinets there. Felix then started to move the bed to its proper place.

"I should, but are you going to manage?" Felix asked Marietta, shoving the bed towards the wall. Marietta carried a pile of clean blankets, sheets and pillowcases in her hands and walked towards the bed.

"Yeah, I guess so. All the heavy stuff are put back into place anyway." Marietta said, looking over the pile of folded sheets. Felix didn't say anything as he finished up with pushing the bed. "Felix, thanks for all your help." Said Marietta, as she headed towards the bed to dress up the bare mattress in fresh sheets.

"Don't mention it. I was glad to help." Felix answered. Because of the pile of sheets and pillowcases, Marietta didn't see a loose fold on a rug near the bed. Her foot was caught in the fold and sent her tripping over to the bed.

"OHH! Look out!" She yelled to Felix, who was standing in front of the bed and oblivious of her mishap. "Felix!"

"Huh?- Aaah!" Felix exclaimed, but it was too late. Marietta accidentally knocked Felix backwards due to her stumble. The sheets she was holding escaped from her hands and opened up in the air. Felix fell on the bed's soft mattress with Marietta following after him. Marietta fell on top of Felix, who was now lying on his back on the mattress.

Felix looked at his chest and saw Marietta's head resting on it…and her whole body on his.

The sheets drifted down slowly around them, like tufts of clouds descending from the sky. Felix felt a strange tingling sensation forming on his skin. Goosebumps. He was getting goose pimples all over, and feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand. But it wasn't a sign of repulsion or fright. It was more of tenseness. Felix never had a girl this close to him in all his life, and to make things more uneasy, that girl had to be Marietta. Felix could feel her delicate form breathing and giving off a warmth that slightly soothed his anxiety. Marietta looked up at him, realizing that she is lying on the young man's body. As a lady, Marietta thought of immediately getting off him, but then something prevented her- a strong pull of emotion. Felix and Marietta's stares met and intertwined in one unbreakable connection. Marietta could feel Felix's heart pounding wild and rapid.

"Marietta…I…" He muttered, but didn't say anything else. A rush of emotion filled Felix's heart, fusing with the rivers of blood that flow through his veins. Unknown to him though, Marietta was experiencing the same sensation. It was a feeling neither of them experienced before; something so magical and new. The feeling made both Felix and Marietta happy, but it was a joy that cannot be described in any word known to man. A joy that abounded in their hearts that they never knew they could feel. But that was until now that they are together like this. Felix smiled lovingly at the redheaded girl. He placed his hand gently on Marietta's back, slowly inching upwards to feel the perfectly sculpted contours of her shoulders. Marietta was trembling, but she enjoyed the sweet gentleness of Felix's touch. She didn't slap his hand away. She didn't want to. Felix trailed his hand down Marietta's arm, envisioning how soft and fair it must be if it was free from the garment she wore. Marietta watched as he moved his hand to her beautiful face, caressing it tenderly. Marietta was sort of unaware of what she was doing when she took her own hand and put it on Felix's, pressing the latter's hand harder on her face. The silver-haired man used his free hand to trail the sunken arch in Marietta's back, silently admiring how it was beautifully carved out; like a work of angels. Marietta shivered.

"So beautiful…" She heard him murmur, gliding his hand down the bend. Marietta could feel Felix's hot breath on her face, probably brought about by tension and anxiety. Marietta put both of her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself a little upwards, so that she was on all fours on top of Felix. Marietta's face was directly above Felix's as they exchanged loving smiles with each other. Soon, there was silence. The two of them could hear the beat of each other's heart, drumming rhythmically with each other. They both knew that this was a sign. It was ecstasy in a whole different level. That sign made them realize that there is something special blossoming between the two of them, and they couldn't find it in their selves to ignore it. It was an attraction neither of them expected to happen. Blood rushed faster through their veins as their breaths got heavier and warmer against each other. Marietta could feel droplets of sweat trailing down the side of her face as she opened her mouth to say something to Felix.

"On second thought…" Marietta breathed out her words, touching Felix's smooth alabaster-skinned face. Felix had a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

"May be I should…" He said quite playfully. Marietta neared her face to his and traced a finger down his lips.

"Stay a while...?" She intended to finish the sentence for him, but ended up asking him a question instead.

The smile on Felix's face grew as Marietta held his face in her hands. The silver-haired man took hold of her slender waist, sliding his hands along the smooth curves of her body. Their faces were barely an inch away, when finally, after a short moment, the gap between them was closed. Felix felt Marietta's full, rose-colored lips make contact with his mouth, placing a soft, chaste kiss. The kiss was so light and pure, that neither of them could feel the tension. But they didn't mind that. The moment was too perfect to be spoiled by silly ponderings. Despite the wispy kiss, both of them could feel the warm touch of the other. Marietta could feel Felix's hands gliding along her back and waist, tracing the fragile curves with his gentle fingers. Marietta's hands slid along the side of Felix's face, tracing his neck and feeling the crooks of his collar bone. Felix smiled while kissing, making it somehow hard to continue. Soon, the delicate kissing turned into a serious exchange of love. They joined in a kiss; their mouths open and letting their tongues playfully explore and experience each other's essence. Felix could taste something cool and fresh in Marietta's mouth. _Peppermint_, he thought as he savored the piercing iciness of the mint. Marietta enjoyed the feeling of having to kiss someone. It was not like anything she experienced before. It was tense and sultry, seeing as they both sweat pretty hard while exchanging the kiss. She gave into it with all she has, not regretting every moment that passes by.

But then, even though they didn't want to, they eventually had to end their pleasure session. After a while of discovering each other with a kiss, both of them disconnected and started to gasp hungrily for air. Marietta panted on Felix's chest, taking in every available gust of air there is. Felix tilted his head sideward, dampening the mattress with sweat from his face. Marietta jadedly giggled, gasping for breath with every laugh. Felix put some stray strands of red hair behind Marietta's ear and hugged his new lover affectionately. They were tired, but the experience felt so damn good that they didn't mind their fatigue. They both looked at each other with satisfied gleams in their eyes, somehow hoping that they could repeat the awesome encounter. A tired Felix then opened his mouth to say something.

"I'd love to, my dear." Felix answered dotingly to Marietta's last question. "I'd love to." Marietta couldn't be any happier at her lover's response.


	5. Wishes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.**

The smell of detergent scented the air at the rooftop of the Leopearl Apartments building. Damp sheets hung on the clothesline, dancing and swaying according to the direction the wind blew. The clothes basket sat next to two people hanging out on the roof of the building. The moon shone in a brilliant, pale yellow, as the young man held the girl warmly in his arms, both of them watching the star-lit sky glimmer. They admired how beautiful the sky looked tonight, enjoying each other's company. The young man suddenly remembered something he read in the Vareth library about stars.

"I've read that in some foreign lands, whenever they see a shooting star…." Felix said while letting Marietta rest on his shoulder. "They knot a string three times while it is still visible in the sky. If they succeed in doing so, they believe that their deepest wishes will be granted."

"Wow…" Marietta said in awe. "Do they actually make it?"

"The shooting star has probably passed by the time they finish making three knots. The star only appears for a few seconds." Felix answered. He looked at Marietta and stroked her head. "But they try, nonetheless. They try very hard." Marietta smiled. She succumbed to Felix's embrace as they watched the night go by. The laundry of bed sheets and pillow cases hung behind them, drying off on the clothesline. The stars above twinkled vibrantly, giving life to the mundane sheet of night shadows.

"It's kind of weird…this day was a complete disaster." Marietta said suddenly, rubbing her arm because of the cold breeze. "An exploding clock trashed my room, I got scolded by Sir Derek, I was sent to detention and I had to do some untimely laundry…" Felix said nothing. He was drumming his fingers slightly on Marietta's shoulder. The redheaded girl escaped from Felix's embrace and took his hand, looking at him so sweetly. "But I never expected that it would end so perfectly." She looked deep into his gem-like eyes. Felix ended up smiling back at her, his silvery ashen locks flying into the wind.

"This is a proof that you can never expect what life will give you." Felix responded. He directed his attention to the overlooking view of Mage town. The Black Town of Night and Lust was a bit visible from the top of the apartment, resembling a blurred patch of little houses and buildings off in the distance. "Just when you think that life has become too merciless to live, there will be a shining ray of light that will come and save you."

"Yeah. And it did." Marietta said, squeezing Felix's hand tighter, looking off into the dark horizon with him. They both considered the feeling of exchanging love so pure and exhilarating, since it was both their first time to kiss someone. And it wasn't just for superficial reasons. What made the experience more memorable was because they really had deep feelings for each other. Felix and Marietta could still feel their hearts beating quickly, especially now that they had found absolute solace in each other's company. Felix fidgeted a bit while sitting on the roof ledge, swinging his feet back and forth. Marietta could see his anxiety and giggled at his cuteness.

"Marietta…" Felix began, his voice quivering slightly.

"Yeah?" Marietta asked.

"Remember earlier, during detention?" Felix said. Marietta nodded and listened on. "I just wanted to say thanks again for not jumping quickly into conclusions. You're really not like the many others who judge people by what they see outside."

"Are you still thinking about people calling you a girl?" Marietta suddenly asked, laughing afterwards. She rested her head on his shoulder and reassured him lovingly. "Don't worry, Felix. They'll never call you a girl again." Marietta giggled cheerfully to him. "You have me now." Felix perfectly knew what she meant and was very happy to know it. He always thought Marietta was cute, with her cherry-red hair all tied up in those cute little buns. Felix also admired her narrow, green eyes. He wasn't really the type who'd fall for those big, round, doll-like eyes. But the thing that he considered the cutest about Marietta, was the thing the girl loathed the most about herself- her innate clumsiness. Felix recalled the times when he saw her stumble on the floor like a little girl. It was wrong to laugh, but he wasn't doing it out of cruelty. Felix was merely admiring the natural charm Marietta had because of her awkwardness. It was just now that he has fallen completely for her. Felix laughed a bit.

"What's so funny?" Marietta asked out of the silence. Felix beamed at her and chortled to himself.

"I just remembered what I said about Ernest earlier." Felix answered, trying to stifle some more chuckles. "The thing about misunderstood people like him making this world a more colorful place."

"You were quite the humanitarian back there!" Marietta quipped, tapping his back playfully. She remembered how he defended for the sake of the misunderstood people. He couldn't help but fight for that cause. Felix was also suffering from the prejudicial eyes of the people, after all. "You really bring fairness to misunderstood folks." She added happily.

"Yes, well, thank you. But my point is," Felix thanked Marietta for her compliment. "If Ernest makes _this_ world a far more interesting place…" He then stopped, feeling rivulets of cold sweat drift down the sides of his face. Marietta was waiting for him to finish. Felix took a deep breath and fixed his crystalline eyes on Marietta.

"Yeah?" Marietta asked eagerly. She was trying to hide her excitement, but the suspense of what Felix was about to say was killing her.

"Then you make _my_ world a far more interesting place."

Marietta stopped, feeling every word that Felix said sink in and plant themselves into her heart. Little hot pearls of tears formed along Marietta's eyes, clouding her view of what was before her. The clear picture of Felix was starting to get distorted because of the tears in her eyes. The hot liquid glistened in the moonlight, reflecting the radiant light beautifully. Marietta held onto his words, holding onto them dearly as if they were made of fragile glass. Felix smeared the tears away with his thumb before they escaped Marietta's eyes and drenched her face. Marietta lowered her head, but Felix lifted it back up. He brushed his lips against Marietta's in a light stroke, sending excited shivers through the girl's body. Marietta wrapped two arms around his waist and cried on his chest, letting him know how happy she is to have him. Just then, Felix saw something glimmering brightly in the sky. Among all the tiny lights in the dark heavens, there was one that shone the brightest among them all…and it seemed to grow bigger as every second passes.

"Marietta! Look, a shooting star!" Felix quickly exclaimed while pointing to the star, making Marietta look to whatever he's pointing at. Marietta's tear-drenched eyes saw the brilliant star glisten vibrantly.

"Quick, make a wish!" Marietta managed to exclaim after crying. Felix scrambled to look for a string of some sort to knot.

"I can't find a string!" Felix exclaimed. Marietta looked around and saw the drying sheets on the clothesline. An idea hatched in her head as she smiled at the blankets.

"Get one of the sheets, Felix!" Marietta said to him, getting up from the roof ledge. Felix was confused.

"What? What are we going to do with the sheet?" He asked, going to the clothesline. Marietta went after him and got one of the sheets.

"Just pretend this is a big string!" Marietta said happily, taking one end of the sheet. "We have to work on this together if we want our wishes to come true!"

"OK!" Felix responded, taking the other end of the sheet. They looked up and saw the shooting star come closer.

"I'm ready." Marietta said, firmly gripping her end of the sheet. Felix waited for the exact moment to begin knotting. Just when the star was about to flash across them, Felix gave the "go" signal to Marietta.

"Now, Marietta!" They slipped the ends together to form a knot in the middle. The star was about to reach the exact middle of the sky when Felix and Marietta tied their respective ends of the sheet. The shooting star was fast. Felix wasn't sure if they could do it, since the sheet was difficult to knot. But he knew with the two of them working together, they might actually be able to pull it off. Marietta looked up and saw the star pass the middle and was quickly heading off into the darkness.

"Just a bit more!" Marietta uttered, pulling the end of the sheet tightly and formed the final knot.

"Great! Good job, Marietta!" Felix exclaimed happily, seeing how Marietta managed to come through with the knotting. He and Marietta looked up into the sky and smiled at what they saw. Fate has been kind to them. The shooting star was just about to disappear into the darkness. They made it. Felix and Marietta looked at the sheet they were holding. There was a knot in the middle and two more at each end. Marietta grinned happily at Felix, still holding the end of her sheet. They both watched as the shooting star faded off into the distance until it completely disappeared into the darkness. Felix directed his attention to Marietta. Their stares met once more.

"We did it." Felix said, looking at the sheet. "It is impossible that we could have done this…I mean, if people couldn't do it with a string, then how in the world did we accomplish knotting a blanket? And for THREE times?" He added with a hearty laugh at the end. Marietta started to do her trademark swaying.

"Well…I guess fate is kind to us. Maybe it wanted to have our wishes granted." Marietta responded, shyly swaying. Felix nodded happily at Marietta. She then looked at Felix, her face streaked with that pink shade again. She didn't know if she should ask this, but she was curious. "So…what did you wish for?" Felix just stared at her, seeing her scarlet face glow brighter. His lips curled into a warm smile as Marietta waited for the answer.

"I wished…" Felix said, dropping the blanket. "That the shining ray of light that I told you about…" He continued, walking towards his beloved Marietta. Felix took her hands and looked deep into her lustrous emerald eyes. "…Will be strong enough to never wane on guiding and protecting you." Marietta's face flushed into a hot ruddy color.

"You know what, it will be strong enough." She said to Felix. "And I know it won't fail me. _You_ won't fail me." Marietta finished. Felix felt the blood in him rush faster, his heartbeat quickening. He will do it with all that he has. He will protect Marietta from anything—or _anyone_ who would dare harm her. Felix was so sure of this decision. He knew that Marietta was accident-prone, and he will do anything to make sure that she doesn't get hurt. This was how Felix loved her; unconditionally and incomparable to anything else. He stood there with Marietta, their hearts entwined in an aura of love and passion for each other, as they both savored the perfect night they were given.

They had to make every moment last, for soon, the sun will rise again and it will be morning once more.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know the chapter's short and it's sorta confusing. And in my opinion, this is far by the worse chapter that I've ever written. I'm having a bad case of writer's block and I just have to post another chapter. For those who are wondering where the hell I got the idea of knotting a string three times while watching a shooting star go by, it's a Filipino superstition that I know for ages. Gotta be proud of where you came from! XD 


	6. The Second Save

**Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.  
**A/N: Okay, so just a small warning. Some dirty talk will occur in this chapter. No swears, just dirty talk. And no, Felix and Marietta did **NOT** do _it_. Just a clarification when you reach the part of her conversation with Roche.

Morning came sooner than anyone thought. The rays of sunlight passed through the glass panes of the window in Marietta's room, hurting her eyes as they shed some light on her. Marietta's sleepy eyes slowly fluttered open, meeting the rays of light from the sun outside. She fell asleep without changing her clothes, seeing her self still clad in her Vareth Institute uniform. Marietta felt a heavy thing coiled around her waist, tight and warm. She looked down on her waist and saw someone's arm around her. Marietta turned her head to the side and saw Felix's serene face, sleeping soundly like a baby. He never left the apartment. Marietta turned completely to have her whole body face Felix. The young man still retained his snug embrace around her. Marietta tried to curb her giggles, but they came out anyway. Felix groggily opened his eyes and saw Marietta's morning face weakly smiling at him.

"Good morning, my Marietta…" Felix's words were garbled a bit when he yawned within the sentence. Even though she just woke up, Marietta still looked pretty to Felix. Her green eyes are tired and a bit bloodshot, her red hair messed up and her smile weak and sleepy, but Felix felt the same wonderful sensation of excitement when he kissed her last night- when she was still fixed up and tidy.

"Why didn't you go home last night…?" Marietta asked sleepily.

"Did you want me to?" Came Felix's response in a form of another question. He smiled teasingly at her. Marietta felt something in her jump in response to his impish grin.

"Silly, of course not." Marietta answered. Anyone would probably gasp in repulsion and shock when they saw Felix and Marietta tangled within each other's arms in a bed. It is pretty raunchy for a young lady and a young man, unmarried at that, to stay under one roof…and together in a bed as well! But right now, they didn't mind if anyone saw them like that. They were too deep in love to care about what those spiteful people think. They didn't care if anyone caught them in that pool of blankets, enveloped within each other's arms, as long they had each other close by.

"What do you think will be their reaction if they saw us like this?" Felix suddenly ask, amused at his thoughts of people seeing them in their awkward position. Marietta's face blushed, but she didn't lose that humor to respond to Felix's funny question.

"I'm sure they'll be confused on what to do first; gasping, pointing and whispering at us all together." Marietta answered, also envisioning the funny picture of people gasping and whispering around them. "It'll be a shocker to the nth degree." She laughed afterwards, and soon, Felix joined in as well. Nothing mattered, as the world was theirs now. It was a wonderful feeling, and they won't let the people's perverted comments spoil that kind of sensation.

"I don't care at what they'll say, actually." Felix said, his voice a bit raspy. "I'm too happy to mind their gossip." Felix caressed Marietta's soft face with a gentle hand. The girl smiled at his touch. Marietta raised an eyebrow

"We still have school today, Felix." She said. "So, as much as I'd hate to break our little...encounter, we'd better get ready." Marietta picked up Felix's arm from her waist and stood up from the bed. Felix whimpered like a small boy.

"Aww...do I have to? Can't we just stay here together?" Felix stood up and watched Marietta comb through her luxurious red hair with her fingers. They cascaded beautifully down her back and over her shoulders. Felix walked over to Marietta and wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her flaming red hair. "Can't we just forget about the world right now?" He added, moving his head down to Marietta's neck. The girl didn't flinch. He let herself go with whatever movement Felix was doing.

"I wish we could...but we still have our education to attend to." Marietta merely murmured her words, trying to suppress her...noises. She turned around to face her lover and ran her fingers through his silver hair. A sly smiled crept on Marietta's lips. "But that doesn't mean we can't have our little moments at the Institute." Felix smiled at his girlfriend. Marietta grabbed him by the collar and pulled him a kiss. Even before this, Felix has seen Marietta as someone beautiful. But when she added in her little seduction games, Felix just couldn't say no.  
-----

Later that day, Marietta went to the Vareth Magic Institute with an unusually bright aura around her. If one could see it, they'd probably say that Marietta is glowing. Her blue uniform is well-worn and her red hair was neater than usual. Marietta even hummed a little tune while going to the Institute. She went inside the big double doors of the Institute and went directly to the reception counter to sign her name. Roche, who was busy sorting documents in the cabinets behind the counter, turned to see who was approaching the reception area. She saw a very happy Marietta smiling, as she bent down to sign her name.

"Wow, you seem really cheerful today." Roche said, noticing the sudden change of Marietta's atmosphere from yesterday. "Seems like you got over your glum syndrome from yesterday." The receptionist added, smiling.

"Well...I—" Marietta stopped when she saw Felix come out from the cafeteria. He looked at her with a sly glint in his eyes. Marietta understood the body language perfectly. Marietta tried to suppress a smile, seeing as Roche was there watching. But the bespectacled receptionist knew something fishy was taking place.

"Good afternoon, ladies." Felix nonchalantly said, walking past them. Marietta followed him with her eyes as he made his way up the stairs towards the library. Marietta's smile broke free and then turned to Roche to continue their conversation.

"I...just needed someone to talk to." Marietta spoke in a dreamy voice. She looked at Roche. "...Why are you giving me that face?" Roche's face has been plastered with a non-moving smile. Marietta could see her eyebrows arched in a questioning gesture. Marietta could see that if Roche wasn't wearing her glasses, she was giving Marietta a teasing face.

"Oh, I see." Roche's voice was dripping with taunting. "Heehee, looks like Felix did something _more_ than just talking." She quipped at Marietta. Marietta was instantly taken aback, her face flushed in a deep crimson color.

"Wh-What?" Marietta choked. "Wh-Whatever it is you're thinking, we didn't do it!" Her emerald eyes were wide and alarmed. Roche fell back into her seat, laughing.

"Heehee, well, whatever _it_ is, I'm sure you thought long and hard before you took any action." Roche burst into tears because of her laughter. Marietta figured that Roche has already gotten the message about her and Felix. The flushing of her face disappeared and a cunning smile was formed on her lips. Marietta decided to give Roche a real shocker to make her stop quipping.

"Actually, _it_ doesn't really require thinking. It's more of _feeling_." Marietta slowly said, her green eyes sparkling craftily. Roche stopped gradually stopped laughing and listened to Marietta. "And, I'd like to have to let you know...Felix is very good at it. Though he didn't do some things I told him to. He can be a bit..._hardheaded_." Marietta saw Roche's face turn stunned. The receptionist was speechless. Marietta smiled and left the reception desk. Roche was still dazed from what she has heard.

"...No way...aw, no. That's impossible." Roche muttered in shock, but later shrugged it off and continued sorting documents.  
-----

Marietta arrived in at the Star Tower first floor research lab, a satisfied smile on her face. Never before has she pulled off something like that. Marietta was not really the go-getter-straightforward-seductress type of woman, so her little fake horny speech a while ago was something new to her list of "achievements". She figured thatbeing with Felix gave her more confidence, and it was changing her for the better.Marietta giggled to herself as she settled herself down in the room, next to Faraus. The usually apathetic doctor noticed the glow in Marietta's air today as well.

"Having a good day, I suppose?" He said in a friendly voice, but there was a smidge of conceit beneath it. Marietta faced him and nodded happily. A weak smile was visible from the corners of Faraus' face. "Well, whatever it is that makes you happy, I hope doesn't get in the way of your grades." His eyes fell on Marietta's copy of Elemental Manipulation Advanced Volume 2.

"Ha-ha. I have to let you know that I've never been more motivated in my life to study." The ginger-haired girl responded. Her body was flowing with confidence—something that she doesn't normally feel. "Studying isn't all brain. Sometimes you need an impetus to spur you to success." Marietta smiled, as Felix's smiling face appeared in her mind. "Spell Metamorphosis today!" was written on the board. Just then, the automatic doors opened and entered Derek. He did his usual rituals: settling his teaching paraphernalia on the table beside the chalkboard, flipping through his copy of Elemental Manipulation Advanced 2 and finally, literally slamming the book shut. He turned to his two students and commenced with today's lesson.

"Good afternoon, people." Derek greeted firmly. "As you know, today we will be moving on to a new lesson, which is Spell Metamorphosis. But before that," Derek shifted his eyes towards his only female student. "Marietta, may I please have your _late_ assignment?" Marietta stood up and pulled a couple of papers from her textbook. She handed them over to Derek, wearing a pretty smile. Derek received the papers and scanned them, once in a while looking at Marietta with seemingly suspicious eyes.

"Hmm..." Derek hummed, checking the assignment. He looked at Marietta, who had a big smile on her face. "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Marietta said quickly, suppressing her smile to avoid any trouble with hot-tempered Derek. The professor rolled his eyes and finished checking the papers.

"D-." Derek said flatly, shooting the papers back at Marietta. The girl was dumbstruck. _What? He gave me a D-?_, Marietta was hysterical in her mind. She took the papers feebly, the color in her face sinking into a pale shade. Just then, the automatic door whooshed open and in came someone carrying a huge stack of books.

"Excuse me, but Ms. Lianne wanted me to bring these books to you, sir Derek." The person carrying the books said, but Derek was too busy to listen.

"It's very clear that you do not know how to balance elements." Derek said coldly at Marietta. "Frozen Fire does not break down into two ice ores and one fire ember." The person with the big stack of books realized that Derek was chastising a student.

"B-But, I...I just followed the rules in the book." Marietta was close to sobbing. The person with the books heard her voice and put the big stack down on the round table in the middle of the room. He walked towards Derek, his silver hair trailing behind him.

"Excuse me, but may I have a look-see?" Felix asked, moving over to Derek and Marietta. The professor and the student were both surprised to see Felix. Marietta's miserable face lit up when she saw him. She smilingly handed her papers to Felix. "Thank you." He then scanned the homework for the so-called mistakes. Derek turned to Felix.

"Felix, please tell my student here that her balancing is completely—"

"Correct." Felix said almost immediately. "I see nothing wrong with this. Frozen Fire does break down into two ice ores and one fire ember. Switching the quantities will result the ice ore to melt and therefore, will not produce an ice-fire spell." Felix explained to Derek, who was struck dumb by the explanation.

"B-B-But what about the Lightning Stream? She didn't do anything with it!" Derek was trying to poke holes into Felix's defense. Felix handed over the papers to Marietta, smiling sweetly at her. But his faced turned sour as he confronted Derek.

"...What kind of elemental professor are you? Of course you don't need to do anything about the Lightning Stream." Felix said darkly. "There is enough water in the caster's body to control the lightning element from killing him or her. If you combine the lightning element with water orbs, that will double the water ratio and will cause a harmful reaction on the caster. Double the water, double the power of the lightning element. The caster WILL die." Marietta's eyes were sparkling from admiration. Felix was a genius. Not only was he cute, but he was smart, too! Marietta stifled a giggle at her thoughts. Derek was dumbfounded. The silver-haired man was correct. How could he miss those points? He was Derek, Vareth's best Elemental Magic professor?

"Now, if all of you will excuse me. I still have to deliver more books to other professors." He said, turning towards the door. "Good day. Oh and Marietta," Felix turned around to face the girl. "Tell your professor to change your grade to an A+." And with that he exited the room. Derek was still speechless, as Marietta shot him a sarcastic look.

"You heard him, sir. A+ plus." Marietta chimed sardonically. Derek took the papers and changed the grade without word. Marietta retrieved them. "Thank you, sir." She said and went back to her seat, thinking about her dear Felix who came to her aid.

Her knight has saved her again.


End file.
